Thursday, September 8, 2011

Guest: Heather Jensen

VampChix welcomes Heather Jensen, whose latest, BLOOD AND GUITARS combines two of my favorite things in a vampire novel—blood and rock stars. It looks like a fun, sexy read! Heather will give away an e-copy of her book to one lucky commenter, so show her some love in the comments!

First of all, I’m honored to be guest posting today. I’m a big fan of all things vampire so I feel very much at home here at Vampchix.

My fascination with vampires began when I watched Interview With A Vampire on TV when I was about twelve. I’m sure my mother would be surprised to learn that a single event triggered the obsession, but it’s true. I was drawn to the danger, the mystery, and the possibilities that existed in the world Anne Rice had created. It didn’t hurt that Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise were the yummy vampires in the movie. (I’m Team Louis all the way.)

The idea of vampires being more than just a cartoon-type character on a welcome mat my mother put out at Halloween was something that struck a chord in me. I was fascinated and terrified all at once by the idea of this mythical creature. It was a good terrified, though; the kind of terrified that comes with being scared in a great haunted house Simply put, vampires are like an adrenaline rush.

A few years later I discovered my favorite author, Amelia Atwater-Rhodes. Her vampires were completely different than Anne’s, but no less fascinating. Although I have a great appreciation for the classic vampire types, I tend to gravitate more toward modern-day vampires. Whichever type of vampire you prefer, I think the appeal comes from some basic qualities all vampires share.

First up: immortality. Who doesn’t want to live forever? I think this particular quality draws young people to vampires specifically. Most teenagers feel invincible to some extent. Sure, you know bad things happen in the world, but they’ll never happen to you. In this sense, a lot of us can relate to vampires at one time or another in our lives. Second is the eternal beauty. Even the most confident among us has something they don’t like about their appearance. A vampire’s bite will make you the perfect version of yourself. Say goodbye to bad hair days and acne. Who wouldn’t want that? Last but not least, we have the element of danger. Vampires are dangerous which gives them the bad boy/bad girl appeal that tempts even the most reserved. It’s human nature to want what you can’t have. Again, I blame the adrenaline rush.

I was in high school before my love of vampires and my love of writing came together, which eventually resulted in my newest novel, Blood And Guitars.

My vampires aren’t full-fledged vampires until ten years after they are changed. They spend those ten years practicing the unique abilities that come with being a vampire. At every full moon, my vampires are granted one special ability to use. If they rotate through them as suggested, they should be well-rounded and very powerful vampires at their ten-year mark. If not, they may be very limited for the rest of their long lives. Also, each vampire is born with a moon-given talent; a special power that they have control over all of the time. Unlike some, my vampires can walk about in daylight, but their abilities come and go with the moon. It is for this reason that they tend to be nocturnal.

Here’s a summary of Blood And Guitars. I hope you’ll check it out.

When Aurora meets Trey, a famous singer and musician, she’s only hoping to get her fill of human blood for the week. The last thing Aurora expects is for Trey to make her feel alive for the first time since she was, well, alive. It begins with a casual painting lesson at her art studio, The Waking Moon, and quickly turns into a forbidden romance. Aurora is forced to hide her true identity from Trey, while keeping her relationship with the human a secret from other vampires in her Brood.

Trey’s band is recording a new album and with Aurora as his muse, Trey is writing songs like never before. After being hired by their record label to paint the cover of the new album, Aurora has a legitimate reason for spending so much time with Trey and his band mates. Aurora can’t deny the unexpected connection she has with Trey, which is fueled by glimpses into his emotions every time they share a kiss. Caught between two worlds, Aurora must attend celebrity award shows and vampire rituals, find time to feed, and protect Trey from the dangers of the night, all while preserving her secrets.

What is it about vampires that draw you to them? Is there a specific quality that you just can’t resist?

6 comments:

Vampires use to be based as scary monsters that bumped in the night. Now that the spin of eternal love has come into the picture they have a new image, most of the time. I think people are drawn in because they fear death, and vampires instead of delivering death like they use to now will love you for the end of time. In an wierd way they've been tamed. and everyone wants the power to tame a beast. Blood and Guitars sounds very good, can't wait to read it :)

Vampires intrigue me because of their varieties in stories. They can have different abilities and weaknesses. They can be scary or have a soft side. They are just like humans in that sense, which makes it relate-able to us as readers. And even though they live forever in their perfected selves, they still have trials to overcome and decisions to make, just like us. So, I think that people connect with vampires because they are not only versatile, but they also have human-like characteristics. We can relate to and love them, even though they can be considered "monsters". I can't wait to read your book!

Vampires, the guys anyway, are the ultimate bad boy. I guess the girl vamps would be the ultimate bad girl and appeal in their own way. It's why I like to read stories with vampires in them. Forbidden fruit and all that.

I think the eyes that can mesmerize are the most compelling.

Being that they are fictional creatures, the writer can make them what they will. So no need to keep them in the dark for cruising and in the coffin in the day if the writer doesn't want to.

Thank you for the introduction to two new to me authors. I added BLOOD AND GUITARS to the WWBL (Wanton Wantin' Book List) and print copy in the B&N shopping cart. The other new to me author is Amelia Atwater-Rhodes. I added IN THE FORESTS OF THE NIGHT to the B&N shopping cart, too. What awesome reviews even though they kept quantifying them with her age when she wrote the book. Ah well.

Thank you to everyone who commented and entered to win the giveaway. Congratulation to SandyG265 for being chosen. I'll be in touch as soon as I get your information.

To everyone who entered, I have a coupon code that will get you 20% off Blood And Guitars in the e-book format of your choice from Smashwords. Just visit http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/61167 and use the coupon code RA57F at checkout to receive the discount.

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